Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Timeshifters
by ReplayTyHeretic
Summary: Timeshifters are an impressive group. They can go back in time to change events in history. However, what happens when someone, or something, changes history to the point that it stops forever? There is violence and death. Chance of language.
1. Introduction

**Editor's Note: Welcome to the adjusted and edited version of City Rescue Team. This time, there's a planned plot, and I'm going to work with it. Unlike previously, where a plot wasn't even existent until Act II. This time, the plot that I finally came up with comes into play, more or less. I also changed the perspective from first-person to third-person omniscient, since I couldn't explain things very well as the character themselves.**

**I also merged together some of the chapters, since I had a 500 word chapter somewhere that I didn't really put much thought into. On that note, this entire story is still being written with a Nintendo 3DS, and edited for spelling and grammar on Google Docs, then brought here for your entertainment. In retrospect, I could use a few informational reviews. Like I said, I'm always aiming to improve. So Read & Review, I always listen to opinions. I hope you enjoy the renewed story of "The Timeshifters."**

Part 1: Introduction

Katherine is a human, or should I say "was" a human. She lived a normal life in Diaote City, but she had a big secret. She was given the ability to change forms from human to Pokemon whenever she wanted, but only three times. She never told anyone this secret, until one day where her life was changed entirely. I'm getting a little ahead of myself, let's start with how this all began.

It was a typical August day in Diaote City, where a human named Katherine lived. Katherine is a 19-year-old who lived in an apartment that was within a five-minute walk to the park. Katherine worked at the Pokemon Center as a nurse on most weekdays, taking weekends and the occasional Monday off. She typically wore a black long-sleeved shirt and jeans. Her light blond hair went down a couple of inches from her shoulders, and she typically didn't braid it.

Diaote City is in the middle of the Seronia region, which is not far southwest from the Hoenn region, but is far enough to be hidden behind the horizon. The city has a population of about six hundred thousand, and is powered by wind turbines a few minutes away from the city. The turbines are much more quiet than generators were, they constantly powered buildings efficiently, and didn't cause extremely major power outages; since, should one of them blow out from a power surge, there were a few more as a back-up, preventing a city-wide power outage.

In the center-most part of the city, the popular Glint Park was always fresh with different people every time. Glint Park got its name from the solar panels that were placed here as an experimental regime for powering the park's lights. Tourists constantly visit the park, and on occasion can get a tour of the park's new additions or things that are under construction at that moment. Katherine meets her friends from work at the park on some weekends.

The day was August 21st, which was a Sunday. Katherine went to the park with her friends, and brought along her Pokemon. Her Pokemon's name was an Eevee named Cloe. Cloe was colored brown, with creme-tan tufts of fur surrounding her neck. Her ears stood up like a rabbit's, and she had a very bushy tail that was brown, the tip also having a creme-tan color. With her large brown eyes, she looked like a rabbit-fox hybrid.

The park bench that Katherine and her friends sat at was near a small oak tree. Cloe liked to be underneath this tree, since being in the heat made her feel uncomfortable. On occasion, a breeze would flow underneath the tree's branches and give a very cold feeling, which Cloe didn't seem to mind that much. Not far to the right of the tree Cloe was lying down underneath was a lining of shrubbery and more trees. This line, should you go past it, has a clear view of the pond in the middle of the park.

The park also had battle areas for trainers, several hundred feet from where the park benches are, there are four circular zones where trainers can freely battle Pokemon. There are rules and regulations about fighting in the park. Including that the "lock-eyes" rule doesn't apply; you can fight whenever you feel like it, as long as you have a challenger. You also could not use any Pokemon that were larger than you were height-wise, which eliminated Pokemon like Aggron or Rhydon. This was good for the park and the visitors, since these kinds of Pokemon could cause damage with the kinds of moves they knew, such as Earthquake.

What had caught Cloe's attention was the battle that was occurring with one trainer and his Charmander. The battle had a disadvantage against the Fire-type Pokemon, his opponent using a Geodude, a Rock-type. The fight eventually ended with the Fire-type surprisingly winning. There were multiple spectators that briefly applauded once the trainers shook hands and parted ways.

A few moments had passed, and the trainer had begun to walk over to other nearby trainers. Looking at the distance Cloe was watching at, the other trainers looked like they were friends with each other. There was a slight conversation with as the trainer pulled out one of his Poke Balls and let out the Charmander. The other trainers did the same thing with their Pokemon, and the group of both trainers and Pokemon went their separate ways. There were three Pokemon in the group; there was a Vulpix, a Vaporeon, and the Charmander.

Katherine continued to talk to her friends about various subjects. It was nothing Cloe could understand, since she didn't know the human language very well. She also wasn't used to fighting other trainers, or other Pokemon in that matter; she was just a companion of Katherine's, and Cloe liked being just that. Cloe was still young, about four years old. She had only been Katherine's companion for three of those years. The Seronia region was a little different from other regions, since Pokemon weren't trained to learn the human language unless they learned it themselves through experience. Cloe understood very little of the language. The only thing she knew was her and Katherine's name. However, this day in particular, things would change drastically for the little Pokemon.

There was someone that Cloe didn't see. This human was very shady, and was dressed in all black. The person looked left and right, to make sure nobody was suspicious of his actions already. He then began to walk over towards the lining of shrubbery towards the pond. At that moment, two of the three Pokemon left the group and headed back to meet their trainers. Cloe didn't notice that the Charmander wasn't in the group, since she was looking at Katherine, who was still talking to her friends.

As Katherine continued talking, Cloe's attention shifted over to the shrubbery. There was the sound of fighting in-between shuffling noises. This caught Cloe's attention, along with Katherine's. Cloe found it odd that Katherine also noticed, but not her friends. "I'm going to go for a walk with Cloe for a few minutes." Katherine said as she stood up from the bench. Her friends nodded and continued their conversation. Katherine started heading towards the shrubbery. Cloe went with it and followed her.

**I know it's a cliffhanger, but I need a topic to introduce in the next chapter. Some of this story might be a little hard to understand, since I didn't go into much detail about how Pokemon didn't understand humans in the first place the first time I wrote this. I also added an extra bit of detail that offers a little foreshadowing in future chapters. Although the word count is bigger, I had to cut out the fight scene for rewriting. Like Last Warrior 7 stated, "The fight scene was insignificant." I agree with this one hundred percent, so what I'm going to do is that I will merge the fight scene from part 1 & and the entirety of part 2, and work on those two parts since both of them were pretty bad detail-wise. We'll see how this works out in the next part.**

**In case you wonder, I did intentionally write cream as creme. I honestly think it looks better, so I wrote it as such. If you have a problem with it, tell me.**


	2. The Group

**Editor's Note: Winter break ended, and many things happened over those 15 days. A few of them involving me becoming a brony, getting involved in an RP, and cancelling a Let's Play project that I poured a lot of time into. I will admit that I often get a heavy onset of depression at this time of year. One of the things that didn't happen was, of course, the fanfic. I had promised myself that I would edit the fanfic over the break, but other plans got in the way. I'm also very unsure about how the fight turned out, so tell me if it needs adjustment. I apologize beforehand for all of the "the _."**

**Besides that, here's the next part. Don't forget to R&R, I'm always listening.**

**By the way, do I need to capitalize the names of moves? I'm not sure myself.**

Part 2: The Group

The shrubbery began to glow a dim orange-red as Katherine and Cloe approached the tree line. Katherine stopped in her tracks as she saw just barely over the brush. What she saw surprised her. Cloe barely got a glimpse as she poked her head through the shrubs.

It was the Charmander from the battle Cloe had seen earlier. However, instead of the Geodude opponent, it was three Pokemon of various types. Cloe was stunned as the Charmander staggered back to his feet, only to be beaten down again.

One of the three Pokemon was a Poliwag, which is a blue tadpole-like Pokemon with a swirl on its stomach. It fired bubbles at the Charmander, which made a hissing noise as they hit the fire-type's body. The second was a Pikachu, an agile electric-type Pokemon. The little mouse used Quick Attack to knock down the Charmander as it tried to get up.

The final of the three was a Poochyena. A gray Pokemon that resembled a wolf pup; it had a black snout and pointy ears. Its snout had a dark-pink nose at the end, and its eyes were yellow and red. The Poochyena did nothing, apparently watching over the fight. Cloe guessed that if the other two were somehow beaten by the Charmander, then the Poochyena would probably finish the job.

The Charmander got up slowly after again getting beat down. This time, he spared a quick glance at the Eevee. The expression on his face was that of helplessness. Cloe looked behind herself to look for Katherine. To her surprise, she was nowhere to be seen. There was only one thing Cloe could do, and that was to join the fight.

Knowing the risk of injury was high, Cloe jumped out of the shrubs and stood beside the Charmander, ready to fight with whatever she had. Putting herself into an offensive stance, she tried to invoke the instinct inside her. This instinct would give her the power to fight.

Cloe hadn't fought before. She even knew that her stance was incorrect; it felt uncomfortable to her. Still, she couldn't just stand around and do nothing. The Charmander then started poking the side of its neck in various spots, as if it was trying to press something.

Something caught Cloe's attention; a collar-like device surrounded the Charmander's neck. A clear band blended in with the Charmander's skin, and the only visible part of the device was a very small and thin pad. This pad had 5 buttons in the shape of a pentagon, and in the middle of these buttons was a light. The light was red and flashing.

The Poliwag was the first to begin attacking. It fired a Water Gun at the Charmander, who barely dodged the attack. Cloe began to run in a slightly stumbling manner towards the Poliwag and smacked it lightly with her paw. This had barely any effect on the water-type, and the Poliwag returned fire with water. Cloe got drenched and retreated back a few steps.

A rustle came from the shrubbery to the left of Cloe, and again from the shrubbery on the right. Almost instantly, a Vulpix and a Vaporeon appeared through the shrubs. Before they landed, the Vaporeon and the Vulpix seemed to have already sized up their opponents. Landing on the ground in front of Cloe and the Charmander, the two Pokemon readied their offensive stances and prepared to fight.

Both the Pikachu and the Poliwag began to run directly at their stronger opponents. The Vulpix intercepted the Pikachu, who apparently tried targeting the Vaporeon, and used Quick Attack to cancel the Pikachu's similar attack. The force knocked back and dazed the Vulpix, while the Pikachu began tumbling backwards, righting itself after a moment. The Poliwag began blowing bubbles again, which in a state of inconvenience for the tadpole-like Pokemon floated off in another direction thanks to a slight breeze.

Cloe witnessed the pair as they worked together to attack their opponents. Her eyes were focused on the Vulpix's movements during most of the fight. She watched as the Vulpix tackled the Pikachu and pinned it to the ground, frying the mouse to a crisp with Ember. Almost instantly after, the Pikachu was returned to its Pokeball.

The Vulpix watched as the roasted Pokemon returned to its trainer. It forgot for a moment that there were two more Pokemon on the field, still raring to fight. The Poliwag took this advantage to spray a Water Gun at the unsuspecting fire-type. A small, but powerful jet of water hit the Vulpix. The Vulpix let out a cry of pain as the cold water connected, making a loud hissing sound. The spray was interrupted as the Vaporeon tackled the Poliwag away, letting the Vulpix attempt to shake off the water.

Cloe watched as it all unfolded, feeling anger as she spectated. Seeing the Vulpix in such a condition made something in the little Eevee snap. With no knowledge of any harmful attack, Cloe bounded headfirst at the Poliwag, shouting "Leave her alone!" and hit it with such a force that it started rolling backwards. She knew the moment that her attack connected with the Water-type; her instincts finally kicked in.

Cloe noticed the Vaporeon's stance. Feeling the connection between her and the Water-type, she mimicked the stance, finding it more comfortable than her stance before. The Vaporeon glanced at Cloe, giving a small grin. Cloe then heard the Vaporeon speak. Cloe couldn't understand a word of what the water-type was saying, and was taken by surprise when the Vulpix responded back, and went to check on the Charmander.

She looked back as the Vulpix walked over to the Charmander, still drenched in water, and watched as the Charmander responded to anything the little fox Pokemon was saying. The Charmander gave a look of concern, and motioned the Vulpix to sit down. The Charmander began breathing weak flames on the Vulpix's body, trying to dry its fur.

A sudden loud growl came from in front of Cloe. The Poliwag, still in fighting condition, was returned to its Pokeball. She snapped back into her stance, ready to fight again. The Poochyena she saw before the fight rushed out of the bushes, brandishing its sharp fang-like teeth at Cloe. Cloe clearly knew this Pokemon meant business, and that she could get seriously hurt if she didn't try her hardest to fight back.

The Poochyena ran at an incredible speed directly at Cloe. She knew she had a split second to think about what the best option was. _What should I do? I could try to counter, but I would get hurt… What if I tried to dodge? I barely have any time left, but it's my only option._

Cloe barely finished her thought when the Poochyena jumped, its jaws wide open. Cloe dodged to her right and snapped around, only to see that the Poochyena was already trying to bite her again. She couldn't dodge away quickly enough, and the Poochyena snapped its sharp teeth on Cloe's hind leg. She yelped in pain as he tightened his grip, and kept tightening it with the intention to snap Cloe's leg in two.

The Vulpix had other plans, as she used Quick Attack right into the Poochyena's rib cage. The dog yelped and released its grip, centering its attention on the Vulpix. Cloe quickly ran in front of the Vulpix, her mind filled with anger. She wasn't going to back out of this fight just yet. _I'm not stopping until this thing bleeds! _She thought as she focused on the Poochyena. The Poochyena, unaware that it provoked uncontrollable anger in the little Pokemon, ran directly at Cloe, ready to bite her again.

When she dodged a third time, she noticed that the Poochyena was jumping higher each time it tried. She figured out its weakness. She stood still as the Poochyena dashed forward again, and jumped much higher than she stood. At the apex of the dog-like Pokemon's jump, she ran underneath the Poochyena and tackled it. It howled, doing a couple of flips in midair before landing face first into the ground. To add insult to injury, the Vaporeon sprayed it with water the moment it hit the ground. _I would prefer fire, but I guess this works too._ Cloe thought.

The Poochyena got up again, raring to fight, only to be pinned down by the Vaporeon and drenched with water. The Vaporeon wasn't stopping with its Water Gun, presumably until it drowned the little dog. The trainer in the shadows had another idea in mind, as he retrieved his Pokemon and scuttled away.

Cloe felt an overwhelming sense of pain coming from her hind leg. She looked back to see it bleeding quite badly. _I guess I was so ticked off at that mutt that I didn't feel anything._ She was tired from her first fight, and sat down. She looked at the three Pokemon she fought alongside. They all had looks of satisfaction on their faces.

_What are they looking at? _Cloe thought, even though she knew the answer already. She glanced at the Charmander, and noticed it was searching through a small bag. It had pulled out a collar, and proceeded to limp towards her. She reluctantly let the Charmander get close enough, when she figured out what it was holding in its hand. _A collar? Why is he giving me a collar?_

She glanced at the Vulpix and Vaporeon, and could barely see that they too were wearing the same collar. She allowed it to put it on for her. When it was finished, the Charmander pressed a button on the collar, and returned to its two colleagues. The collar began making a quiet whirring noise.

A slight beep could be heard from the collar when the sound stopped. Not a split-second later, she heard something she had never heard before. "Can you hear me?" An unfamiliar voice asked. Cloe started looking around to find the source of the voice. She centered her vision on the Charmander again, when it started talking to her. "So I take it that you can." The Charmander said, its voice like a young teenager's.

"What? How can I understand you?" Cloe said as she stood up in surprise. "Now, don't worry about a thing." She glanced at the Vaporeon, who also began to speak. "You looked like you haven't fought before, dear." The Vaporeon spoke in a voice that sounded like an older man. "However, considering how quickly you learned…" The voice paused, Cloe's eyes shifted towards the Vulpix. "You might be someone that could help us." The Vulpix finished in a feminine voice.

The group started introducing themselves in a friendly manner. "I'm Charmander. Pleased to meet you." He said. "Oh, and these two are Vale," Charmander said as he pointed at the Vulpix. "and Vapor." pointing at the Vaporeon.

"Who are you? We've seen you around the park at times, but we have never seen you fight anything." Vale said. Cloe became a little nervous. "Uh…I'm Cloe." She said in a shaky voice. "You are right, I have never fought before this."

"Well, well, well… This should get interesting…" Charmander said in a shady voice. "Would you quit it with that mysterious, shady voice?" Vale said as she hit Charmander in the back of the head with her paw. "We're trying to ask her something, not scare her."

"Alright, alright…" Charmander sighed. "You know what? How about you ask her, Vale? You're the friendliest of us here."

'_Friendliest?' _Cloe thought as she flashed back to Vale barbequing the Pikachu. _Maybe he meant in a social kind of way. _

"Fine, then." Vale said. "Cloe, would you mind coming back here tomorrow? We have something to show you." She finished.

"Um…OK?" Cloe said hesitantly. "Don't worry, it'll be fine." Vale chuckled lightly.

"You'll need something for that wound of yours." Vapor said as he pointed at Cloe's wound. "My trainer is a nurse. She can handle it." Cloe nodded and began to limp away.

"Oh, and by the way, Cloe…" Charmander said suddenly. Cloe looked back at Charmander, who was still looking at her in gratitude. "Thank you."

Cloe limped out of the shrubbery, just as Katherine appeared with an officer at her side. "Yeah, here's where I saw the fight. There was a Charmander getting bullied by a Pikachu and a Poliwag." She finished and quickly saw that there was nothing there anymore. "What? They were here a moment ago!" The officer began walking off. "I'll start looking for those Pokemon, ma'am. Don't worry about a thing."

Katherine then looked at Cloe. Her expression changed from concern to shock upon seeing Cloe's wounds. "Cloe, you didn't!" Cloe nodded to Katherine's surprise, she shook it off and picked up the Eevee. "I might as well show you where I work. I don't think a potion and bandages will help with that wound." Katherine said as she took Cloe to the nearby Pokemon Center.

Cloe had never been taken to the Pokemon Center (At least, not in the sense that she needed medical attention.) Cloe was perfectly healthy, and until now, never needed serious medical attention to treat something.

Katherine entered the building, wounded Cloe in hand, and walked up to the counter almost hurriedly. "Hey, Katherine, you do realize today is one of your days off, right?" The nurse behind the counter said. "Yes, I know Danae, but Cloe needs some help." Katherine said as she pointed at Cloe's hind leg. "Oh my! How did she get that?" Danae said in a shocked tone.

"I'm not sure, but I think she got it in a fight with some Pokemon that were bullying a Charmander. Can you help?" Katherine explained. "Sure, Katherine. It'll be a moment, since this looks like a pretty bad wound." Danae said as she took Cloe, and brought her to a small steel table.

Cloe's ears flattened as she saw many sharp objects aligned neatly in a metal tray, with a bag on top of a metal rod with a tube sticking out of the bottom near the tray. Danae noticed Cloe's concerns and comforted her. "Don't worry; we won't be using any of that on you. Not today, at least." She said jokingly.

The nurse placed Cloe on the cold, hard table. Grabbing a spray bottle of an odd pink fluid, Danae motioned for Cloe to stand up. "Don't worry; this will sting for just a moment…" She said softly.

A small mist flew out of the bottle and touched Cloe's wounds, which left a burning sensation for a few moments. When the sensations stopped, Cloe glanced down at her leg, only to find that the wounds were gone. Her ears perked up instantly, and she smiled at the nurse.

"Don't mention it." Danae giggled. "Now, let's take you back to Katherine."

Katherine took Cloe back to her small apartment. The apartment had a bedroom with a bathroom across the hall. The living room and kitchens were connected, separated only by a small eating bar for two or three people. The sun began to set, leaving a dark orange hue on the city. Cloe glanced at the park through the window, unaware of what will happen tomorrow.

"Good night, Cloe. See you in the morning." Katherine yawned. Katherine hadn't noticed the collar, since Cloe had hidden it in the tufts of fur that surrounded her neck. She was almost surprised that she could understand what humans were saying, and was afraid that she could also speak to humans. She didn't mutter a word when Katherine tried talking to her, she just smiled and nodded.

She often slept on the couch or in her Pokeball. Tonight, she slept on the couch near the heating vent under the right arm of the couch. _I wonder what kinds of surprises await me tomorrow…_ Cloe thought as she curled up. _There's only one way to find out…and staying up…won't help… _Clue finished her thoughts as she fell asleep.

**Over 3,000 words this time? Alright, I'm getting better at this! Sorry for such a long time of not updating. A lot of things happened, and I didn't have enough time to work on this chapter. Expect more to come, slowly but surely. Also, don't forget to review this chapter. I'm always listening. **


	3. Meeting

**Sorry for such a long time of not updating. A lot of things happened, and I didn't have enough time to work on this chapter. Expect more to come, slowly but surely. Also, don't forget to review this chapter. I'm always listening.**

**I've been taking some time to consider how to re-interpret the story. I think it came out a little better than last time. Although I will admit, I should research more into the combat scenario.**

**Remember: Read & Review. I always read them.**

Part 3: Meeting

The morning sun shone brightly through the window. With the light blinding Cloe she slowly opened her eyes as she got used to the light. She stretched out, feeling a slight burning sensation in her hind leg. Katherine was already awake, pouring coffee into a white cup with a blue handle.

"Good morning, Cloe. How does your leg feel?" Katherine said before yawning slightly. Cloe was still concerned about if she could talk to humans, so she didn't respond. Instead, she jumped off of the couch and began walking on her hind leg, still slightly limping. "Sure, that potion actually heals wounds, but it won't heal injuries to muscles or vital organs." Katherine said as she placed the coffee pot back into the coffee maker. Cloe checked her leg, and still didn't see any blood. She felt a burning sensation in her hind leg, and it hurt to put pressure on it.

"It'll stop the bleeding, but don't put as much pressure on your leg for the time being, alright?" Katherine said as she took a sip of coffee. Cloe nodded and shifted some of her weight so most of the pressure was placed onto her stronger leg. Katherine had an expression that showed her disappointment in the little Eevee's actions the day before.

"You're lucky you didn't get any other serious injuries, Cloe." Katherine said lightly. "From what it looked like, if you would have fought any longer than you did, then your leg could have been broken."

_Considering that the Poochyena attempted to bite my leg in two, I guess I am lucky that nothing was broken in the fight. _Cloe thought as she remembered the fight. _Then again, if that Vulpix or that Vaporeon wasn't there, then I probably would have a broken leg, or worse…_

Katherine usually took a Monday off every two weeks in exchange to work on the Saturday of that week. Today was Katherine's Monday off, and she planned on going to the park with Cloe again to visit her other friends. "Cloe, will you be fine walking to the park?" Katherine asked.

Cloe was unsure of this herself, since she was carried home by Katherine after her visit to the Pokemon Center. She shook her head in a manner that showed her uncertainty. Katherine tilted her head slightly and walked over to Cloe. "Well, the bite that Pokemon gave you went deep enough to injure some muscles, so it's probably for the best that you don't walk on it so much. It'll heal faster that way."

Katherine pulled out Cloe's Pokeball, which she always had at her side. "It's either this, or I can carry you again. It's your choice." Katherine said in a calm tone.

_I don't know… I don't really like the feeling of weightlessness that comes from being put in one of those things, but I don't want to hassle Katherine by making her carry me... _Cloe thought. Her thoughts were debating over what the better choice was, but she decided to just go the hassle-free route and go inside her Pokeball. She nudged the orb with her paw, and Katherine returned Cloe to her ball.

As Katherine was walking to the park again, she paused on the sidewalk near the entrance. There were a few streetlights and power lines on this road. Most of these were almost completely covered by posters with the pictures of Pokemon on them. _So many posters… The kidnapping rate must've skyrocketed in the past couple of months. It is the summer, so it makes sense. _Katherine thought as she looked at the most recent lost Pokemon poster on the power line in front of her.

_Help wanted: Searching for a Vaporeon. He will respond to the name "Vapor." _Katherine read to herself. _There are so many others… It's unbelievable… _Katherine thought as she looked at the other streetlights.

Katherine's friends were sitting at the same spot they were at yesterday. Sitting down, she pulled out a Pokeball and called Cloe out. In a ray of red, Cloe appeared underneath the tree she usually rests in. "Try not to walk too much, your leg still needs to recover." Katherine said.

Cloe waited a few minutes before deciding to walk back to where she met the three Pokemon. Her first step on her injured leg burned slightly, and instinctively, she raised her leg closer to her stomach and walked on her other three legs. As she approached the line of shrubbery where she last met those three Pokemon, she became hesitant. _What do they want with me? I'm just an ordinary Eevee, after all. _She thought. Cloe shook off this thought and carefully entered the small clearing.

She looked in front of herself to see Vale, who was sitting down near a tree. "Ah, there you are. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up." Vale said as she stood up. "Well, I'm here. What was it that you wanted to show me?" Cloe said, wanting to get to the point.

"Do you know about that collar we gave you?" Vale asked. "It allows you to talk to other Pokemon, but as a precaution so humans couldn't use them for themselves, we made it so the band blends into the wearer's skin." She finished.

"How does the translator work?" Cloe asked curiously. "The band translates your language and other Pokemon's language so you can understand each other. It can handle up to three or four different Pokemon speaking at the same time." Vale explained, "As a safety measure, we made a one-way channel for the human language; you can understand the human language, but you can't speak it."

Hearing that gave Cloe a load of relief. She had more questions to ask, but before she could say anything, Vale knocked on the tree three times. A small slit opened in the tree, revealing two beady eyes, which began to speak. "Hello, Vale. Is this the Eevee you were talking about earlier?" The two eyes asked in a voice similar to that of an adult female.

"Yes, she's the one." Vale said as she shifted her vision to the now confused Eevee. "What do you mean by 'the one'? Did I do something wrong?" Cloe asked, now more concerned than she was before she entered the clearing.

"No, you did nothing wrong." Vale chuckled lightly, "In fact, you did very well yesterday. That's why I asked you to come here; I even got the 'OK' from Charmander and Vapor." Vale finished.

"Vale, do you remember where the registration room is?" The eyes asked. "Of course I do, how could I forget?" Vale said with a grin. "Do you mind opening the hatch, Hope?" She asked.

"Of course, Vale." Hope said, and then shifted her vision to Cloe. "I hope you have a good time in registration." Hope finished with a giggle.

_Registration? What am I signing up for? _Cloe thought to herself.

The hatch slowly opened, revealing a long ladder underneath the ground. The ladder was angled, so Pokemon like Cloe and Vale who had four legs but no arms could go up and down the ladder more easily. Vale motioned for Cloe to follow her down the ladder, which the Eevee did reluctantly.

**Sorry for the abrupt ending, but there's a lot more to cover** **in the next part. Stay tuned.**


	4. Commitment

Part 3: Commitment

*This entire story is written on a Nintendo 3DS*

Vale and I must have been staring at each other for several minutes. For those several minutes, neither of us talked. Vale finally broke the silence, "So, your name is Cloe?"

"Yes. I take it you're Vale?" With that, Vale let out a smile. "Yes. We'll be working together, Cloe." Vale was a Vulpix. I didn't mind having a Vulpix as a partner. That's when I realized something.

"Why am I here? I wasn't told anything by anyone." Vale just chuckled, "I see Charmander didn't tell you anything either." She started walking to the exit. "Follow me, I'll tell you about why you're here." I walked with her, as I found out, this underground place was very large. You can get lost if there weren't tons of signs showing you the right way.

"So, this collar..." I had one serious question to ask, "Can I talk to humans with it?" Vale answered with the obvious answer. "No. You can only speak to other Pokemon. Charmander made it so you couldn't talk to humans." I was fine with that answer. Even if I could have the ability to talk to humans, I wouldn't have anything important to say.

"So, this rescue team business. What's it about?" Vale had only one thing to say. "For now, our only job is to patrol the park." I wasn't going to argue, the day was nice, and the weather was clear.

However, I had one more question to ask. One that I think even stumped Vale. "How will Katherine feel about me doing this?" With that, we stopped walking.

Neither of us knew. "Perhaps..." Vale hesitated, she knew it was a long shot. "Perhaps you should just go with it. See what happens, Katherine might understand."

"I guess so, but what if she doesn't?" Vale understood that the worst-case scenario was more likely to happen. "Well, you should still be able to arrive here every weekend. If she understands, then you should be able to be here every day." It was a logical explanation, and it mostly made sense.

"Alright, I'll try hiding the badge. I'll put it back on when I get back to the apartment." After we discussed plans, Vale and I went to the entrance, and wished each other a good night. By the end of registration, it was about 6 p.m.

I took off the badge, and hid it under the tufts of fur that surround my neck. It's the same place I was hiding the collar. I returned to where Katherine was. She was still talking to her friends, which was good, since maybe she didn't notice how long I was gone. I sat down near the tree. Surely enough, not a few minutes after I got there, Katherine was preparing to leave.

"Well, Cloe, are you ready to go?" I stood up, and nodded to her. I guess it caught her off-guard, since she hesitated shortly after. A few minutes passed, and soon we were back at the apartment. Katherine let me out of the Poke Ball, and left the room. I sat on the couch facing the television set. In the short time, I was able to put the badge on the neckerchief and tie it around my neck.

Around the time I finished, Katherine entered the room. She looked at me with a smile, and noticed the neckerchief. By the looks of her expression, I could tell she had seen the badge before. That's when she left the room. She came back into the living room with a small box. I remember that box, she got it along with me on her sixteenth birthday. I tried to remember the name that was on that box. It had something to do with...

That's when it hit me. Exploration teams! She opened the box. I looked at it, as did she. I saw it, there was a badge extremely similar to mine. "No way..." Katherine gasped.

I could understand her shock. She stared at the badge, and didn't say anything for a minute. "I guess you started today, right? By the looks of it, that badge looks like normal rank." She started laughing, I felt a little relief. "So, that's where you were today."

I nodded, that's when she understood. "Alright, you were always the adventurous type." I smiled at that. "I'll tell you what," she explained, "I'll show you how to walk to the park. It's not far, and isn't that dangerous." She did want something in return, "However, I would like to ask for one thing. Someday, can I see your partner? You aren't the type to work by yourself, I can tell." I nodded and gave a big smile.

My face had a worried look on it, I could tell that Katherine saw it. She knew what the problem was, and nodded. "It's alright, I won't tell anyone." With that, I smiled. Katherine is the one person I can trust with a secret as important as this. I slept soundly that night, knowing that I had nothing to worry about.

At least, none I can think of.


	5. Darkness in the Light

Part 4: Darkness in the Light

**_Editor's Note: This is a short chapter, but a fairly important one. Don't think too far ahead._**

* This entire story was written on a Nintendo 3DS *

The next day, Katherine woke up early. I was sleeping on the couch when she woke me up. "Cloe. It's time to wake up." Katherine had to work today, so she got up early to show me the way to the park. It is odd how supportive Katherine is that I'm working on a rescue team. However, I won't argue. She is old enough to understand, I guess.

The path to the park is a fairly simple one. From the doorway to enter the apartment, you can go down the road. Once you reach the corner, you take a left and go up these stairs. These stairs lead to a bridge that's over the road. From there, it's a straight walk to the park.

"Alright, Cloe. I'm going to work. I'll come by once I'm done with work to pick you up." Before she turned to leave, I noticed she was wearing a necklace. I hadn't seen her wear that necklace until today. I nodded and left for the pond.

I waited at the pond for Vale. About 15 minutes passed, when Vale appeared. "So..." She said softly, "How did it go?" I smiled, "She understood everything. I can go to work every day." She looked really happy "Really? That's great! I'm glad it turned out well.

"I am too." Then, I had a question that I needed to ask myself. How did she know so much? It was a little awkward how she knew. I decided not to tell Vale anything about it for now.

"So, what's our job?" I asked, quickly changing the subject. "Well, I got a patrol job yesterday. So let's start with that." I knew what to do in a patrol, so I didn't ask any questions.

We walked around the park for about two hours, when vale brought up Katherine. "Katherine seems like a nice person." "She is a nice person at heart. She works at the Pokemon Center." Vale wasn't surprised at her occupation, "She is? Well, she did understand that you wanted to help others. I guess her need to help rubbed off on you." She chuckles and continues walking.

That's when I remembered the promise. "You'll have to meet her sometime." Vale hesitated a little. "Would she want to see me? It would be awkward meeting her for the first time." I replied, giving some relief. "She actually said she would like to meet you. I want to hold true to that promise."

Vale thought for a second. After a moment, she smiled. "Alright, I'll join you when we are leaving." I gave a smile, and we went back to being on patrol. We patrolled for another 4 hours. Nothing major happened for the entire patrol.

It was 5 P.M. and now was about the time Katherine left work. We had just finished the patrol, and were being debriefed. I took Vale to the tree, and waited for a few minutes. Katherine showed up, and saw Vale.

"So, this is your partner Cloe?" I nodded, so did Vale. Katherine smiled, and had a small expression on her face. An expression that she had a serious secret nobody knew but her. I tilted my head, and Katherine noticed. "Listen, I would like to show you something. Do you two know a place that's well hidden from plain sight?"

We showed her to the pond, behind the tree-lined spot where the entrance to the base is. Ironically, on that day, in the same place, everything changed. Katherine looked around to make sure nobody could see.

That necklace she was wearing this morning started glowing. A brief, bright flash stunned our eyes. When the flash went away, all we saw was a lone Umbreon in front of us. Both Vale and I couldn't believe our eyes.

_Did Katherine just turn into a Pokemon?_


	6. Unbelievable Circumstances

Part 5: Unbelievable Circumstances

**Editor's Note: These chapters have been getting shorter in length. However, it will start to pick up as it goes. I was just never good at explaining in detail.**

* This entire story was written on a Nintendo 3DS *

Vale and I stood there for a few moments. We couldn't believe our eyes. The Umbreon stared at me, yearning to say something. That's when I realized.

"Vale, go ask Charmander for a translator." She went down the ladder, and returned up the ladder not a few moments later. "What now, Cloe?" I took the collar and handed it to the Umbreon.

The Umbreon had a little difficulty putting it on. After a few attempts, it fell off, and Vale hesitantly helped put on the collar. It was a fairly loose fit, but it didn't seem to matter. It seemed to work any other way.

"What is this for?" The Umbreon said, questioning the device. "This is a translator..." I paused a little. The voice sounded familiar, that's when I knew. "It allows Pokemon to understand other species of Pokemon, Katherine." She looked at me, not really surprised I knew who she was. "Cloe, it's nice to finally be able to talk to you."

I gave a warm smile. "I feel the same way." Katherine looked at Vale. "Oh... What's your name? I don't think we were properly introduced." Vale for the first time, showed signs of shying away from the answer. I reassured her, "It's alright. Remember, she did say she wanted to meet you."

"My name is Vale. It's a pleasure to meet you, Katherine." With introductions finished, now came the bigger question. I looked at Katherine, "How did you turn into a Pokemon?"

"Trust me, it's such a long story." Katherine replied. "Even skeptical people don't believe my story." Katherine had this hung over look on her face, like she's told the story many times, but no listener has believed her before. "Try me." Vale said with a warm smirk on her face. "After what I just saw, I'll believe anything."

Katherine giggled a little, then let out an accepting sigh. "Alright. Can we find a better place to discuss this?" I thought for a moment. "We could go back to the apartment. It's much more secluded there." Katherine agreed, and the three of us left for the apartment.

We arrived through the fire escape, and opened a slightly cracked window. Katherine proceeded to jump onto the couch, knocking the box to the ground. The box was yellow, with a similar look to the yellow box I got at registration. Inside were two things. One was a badge. This badge was extremely similar to mine. However, the gem in the center was a different color than ours. The other was a small cold rock. Even in the heat, it felt as cold as ice.

"Both of these are memories. Memories of my past." Vale was curious. "What happened in your past? Why do these two items remind you of your past?" Katherine paused, and cracked a warm smile. "Let's begin from the beginning of it all. The reason why I know so much about rescue teams. The reason why that stone is important."

Let's begin with the very first time I was transformed into a Pokemon...


	7. Beyond Recognition

_"So stand in the rain_

_Stand your ground__  
><em>_Stand up when it's all crashing down__  
><em>_Stand through the pain__  
><em>_You won't drown__  
><em>_And one day, what's lost can be found..."_

_~Superchick, "Stand in the Rain"_

* * *

><p><span>Part 6: Beyond Recognition<span>

My home, my family, my way of life... Burned down, with no knowledge of who did it. I barely escaped from the burning destruction. I cried myself to sleep in the police precinct. Hearing claims that it was my fault that I had played with matches. They had a right to say something like that. I was only ten years old.

I lived in the country, just outside of this exact city. I was adopted and began living in the city, but it was harsh. No matter where I went, people gave me these looks, like I didn't belong here. Those children's parents let them watch the news, I guess. They saw only me, and the burning house. Some of the school children gave me nicknames. One of the most popular ones was "Flint" for obvious reasons.

That night, and some nights after that, I had a terrible nightmare. A nightmare where, no matter how long or how fast I ran, I couldn't escape the burning house. Hallways stretched on for miles, and stairways never ended. Before the entire house collapsed, a door would finally open. To my dismay, the door would shut just as I reached it. I would wake up just as the house began to fall.

The last of the nightmares was when I turned twelve. I finally woke up, freed from the nightmare. I had no friends to invite. Most of the kids at school stayed away from me. They feared that, if they stood to close to me, their heads would burst into flames. The house was decorated only slightly, with some stringers in my favorite color, which was black.

I don't know why my favorite color is black... I guess it was just how my feelings towards the world became after a while. I wished nothing more than for my life to return to the way it was. My life just became nothing more than wishes.

I walked out of the apartment they lived in without them noticing. That day it was raining heavily. Looking up, I saw only a cloudy sky, masking the sun. I burst out crying, and couldn't stop. My foster parents picked me up, and took me back to the apartment. I cried myself to sleep again, hoping the dreams would cheer me up.

The dreams never came. I had no idea what to dream about. However, something else did for me. In the dream, I was surrounded in an aura; it never stopped changing colors for the entire dream. A spirit appeared before me, staring at me. "How much can you take? How much until the pain is too much to endure? You'll find out in time, Katherine. You won't endure the pain alone." I wouldn't see that dream again until I turned 16.

My sixteenth birthday was the most memorable one of them all. The night before my birthday arrived, I got that dream again. However, it made more sense. The spirit took form, it was an Espeon. "Happy birthday. I hope you endured enough to understand everything." I looked at the Espeon. "I understand everything, but I need to know one thing. Why?" The Espeon wondered, "What do you mean?"

"Why do I have these dreams? What's so important about them?" I saw something, a small window with many visions showing inside it. My entire childhood flashed before my eyes. Everything that happened, being seen from another person's perspective. It was all of the dark moments of my life. After everything flashed through, the aura surrounding me changed color. It became a very dark purple.

"This is the reason." The Espeon finally spoke. "That color will be important, you'll see." I became more confused, "What do you mean-" The Espeon cut in, "When your companion needs you most...is when the badge is at its brightest."

"A...companion?" I stood in utter curiosity. Espeon threw a badge, which I caught in my hands. I then noticed that my hands were black paws. A quick inspection showed that I was an Umbreon. "That badge... You'll need it when your companion gets their own."

The Espeon then disappeared. I woke up, and it was morning. I got out of bed, when I heard a sound of something hitting the floor. I looked down, and there was the badge from the dream. I never understood how it got there. I kept it in a small yellow box all this time.

I didn't have much for my birthday. It didn't matter for me, my birthdays were always small. I got two gifts that day. One was an Eevee, so small and innocent. I named it Cloe, and was always kind to her. I went to the park almost every day.

The second was a necklace. It was an opaque gold, with a dark purple gem in the middle. The chain was small and thin, but was also an opaque gold.

I remembered the dream. I was turned into an Umbreon, and the area around me was a dark purple. I decided to put the necklace in the same box. I knew that those two items were important, so I kept them.

Now I'm nineteen, I live alone, and Cloe seems to have found an occupation to do freely. I've decided to try the form for the first time. I was given a "translator" and was now speaking my entire story to two Pokemon that had many questions. One was an Eevee, quiet and brave. The other was a Vulpix, curious and happy. They both went together well. Cloe gave me a scarf, similar to theirs, and I took the badge out of the box and put it on.

For the first time in nine years, I can trust someone. I am now a member of Team Summer Heat.


	8. It's Never Easy

_"The place that I'm from and__  
><em>_The place that I'm in__  
><em>_A city I've never been__  
><em>_I found a friend or should I say foe__  
><em>_Said there's a few things you should know__  
><em>_We don't want you to see__  
><em>_We come and we go__  
><em>_Here today, gone tomorrow..."_

_~ The Fray - Trust Me_

* * *

><p><span>Part 7: It's Never Easy<span>

It was night at the park when the trio returned to the pond. The moon was full and shimmered off of the clear water, giving light to an area surrounding it. Cloe sat near the edge of the pond, still absorbing all that Katherine explained in the apartment earlier. Katherine and Vale were walking around the same pond, talking with each other about different subjects. Vale had many things to discuss about the story. Most of them were legitimate questions.

"So, that necklace you wear lets you transform into an Umbreon and back?" They were across the pond from Cloe when Vale asked this question. "Yeah. However, it has a limited use." Katherine explained. Vale was curious about the 'limited use' part. "Limited use? Like you can only use it once every day?" Katherine had a saddened look on her face. "It's not like that. By 'limited,' I meant that I can only use it three times."

"You can only use it three times? Did you use it for the first time today?" Vale asked a little confused. "Yes. I did use it for the first time today." Katherine added, "The change will last until the necklace is used again. So if I wanted to become a human again, I would have to use it a second time." Vale at that moment realized something. "Wait. So when you use it for the third time, does that mean you'll-" Katherine cut in. "Yes, the third time I will change into this form, I will stay as an Umbreon until I can find another way to change back to a human." Vale was surprised at this. "So, no matter what, you can only stay as one form or the other?"

Katherine hesitated to say something, but finally let it out. "Yes. However, in the dream that I had, the Espeon said that I will have to use these three uses. I didn't tell you two that part." Vale finally understood. "So, let me get this straight. You will need to be a human and an Umbreon accordingly to when they are most needed, ending with you being an Umbreon?" Katherine nodded, "Yes. The Espeon never told me when those moments will arrive, so only time will tell."

Katherine and Vale walked over to Cloe, and sat next to her. The moon was directly overhead, still giving a faint light-blue shimmer to the park. Nobody spoke, they didn't need to. They all knew they were thinking the same thing.

_I wonder what's in store for us tomorrow..._

Katherine broke the silence. "We should probably head back to the apartment. We have a lot of things to do tomorrow, right?" Vale and Cloe agreed, and all three went back to the apartment. The walk back was a silent one; the only sounds that were made were their footsteps, and sounds of single cars driving by.

When they got back, the apartment was the same as it was when they left it. "You two can sleep anywhere you want to." Katherine smiled and went to her room. Cloe went to her usual spot on the couch. Vale, however, was hesitant to sleep anywhere. She had an expression on her face that showed that she felt uncomfortable in the apartment.

"Vale?" Cloe tilted her head curiously. "Are you alright?" Vale shook off the expression to show a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, Cloe. Just go to sleep."

The apartment wasn't at all that messy. The living room had a soft carpet, with a couch facing the eastern-most wall. That wall had an old television set on top of a dresser. To the right of the living room was the kitchen, which had a hardwood floor. (It was like the rest of the apartment. Minus the living room, of course.)

Vale found the carpet in the living room comfortable enough. She did, however, sleep near the heater vent to the right of the couch. The vent gave comfortable heat all night, which Vale loved about sleeping in that particular spot. Vale also found that the vent didn't make much noise, besides a humming sound, which meant that the heater was starting up.

Cloe and Vale slept without any concerns on their minds. Katherine, on the other hand, returned to her dream. It was the same dream with the Espeon. Katherine wondered about what the Espeon would say next.

"I see you found your companion..." Espeon inquired. Katherine nodded to the Espeon. "Yes, I did. What did you need me for, Espeon?" As Katherine anticipated, it was about how the necklace will come into play. "You have used that necklace already, I see." He was noting her change into an Umbreon.

"Yes, I did change. Was that wrong to do?" Espeon shook his head. "No, you used it properly. However, you will need to save those last two uses for when they're needed most." Katherine wanted to know more, as curiosity struck her again, she asked. "When will these last uses be needed most?"

"I don't know that. I do, however, know what they will be used for." Katherine gave a nod, with the expression that told Espeon wanted to know more. "I wish I could tell you. However, the choice will be all yours when the moment arrives." Katherine understood everything, the words impacted her seriously. It was a wake-up call. She was given these chances to aid her companion. The only problem is she didn't understand one thing.

_Which one of the two is the companion Espeon was talking about?_


	9. As Your Thoughts Want You To

_"Saw you the other day_  
><em>Looking so undermined<em>  
><em>Acting like it wouldn't happen<em>  
><em>Making sense of anything that you could find<em>  
><em>Because it's just about to happen<em>  
><em>And you'll be there<em>  
><em>You must have known the storm was coming<em>  
><em>When clouds appeared..."<em>

_~ Pendulum - The Tempest_

Part 8: As Your Thoughts Want You To

Katherine woke up the next morning. She was still sleepy since her dream woke her up earlier, and she couldn't go back to sleep. The sun was barely passing the horizon, giving a dim, dark orange hue to the city. Inside the apartment's living room was Cloe and Vale, still asleep. Katherine tread carefully, as to not make any noise. The apartment window was still open, and Katherine went onto the fire escape to watch the sunrise. The sunrise gave warmth that increased as it rose. Katherine stood there for at least an hour. She was beginning to understand what she was meant to do.

Cloe woke up as the sun began shining into her eyes, noticing Katherine sitting on the fire escape. Cloe began walking to Katherine, accidentally knocking a remote control on the ground. (Presumably the television remote.) The startled Katherine, as she whipped around to see the Eevee cringing at her mistake. "Sorry about that..." Cloe whispered. "You shouldn't be apologizing to me. You should apologize to who you just woke up." Katherine responded. With that, Cloe turned around to see Vale standing up, her eyes wide open from the sudden surprise.

"Sorry about waking you up, Vale. Did I scare you at all?" Cloe asked, slightly concerned. "No..." Vale said, still groggy. "I would've woken up sooner or later." Cloe smiled and walked onto the fire escape, as did Vale. They both sat down near Katherine "The sunrise is beautiful today." Katherine sighed calmly. "Yeah. The sunrise is much more awe-inspiring than a sunset, to be honest." Vale said as the other two nodded. "Well, we should get ready for what might happen today." Cloe said, giving a small yawn at the end, which Katherine oddly giggled at. "We should probably eat something. We haven't eaten since last afternoon." Katherine said as she re-entered the apartment.

Katherine jumped on the counter, and carefully pushed over a large plastic bowl of fruit. The bowl landed on a cardboard box Katherine had on the floor near the counter that was full of smaller plastic bowls. The box, along with the bowls, made a fairly loud sound as they scattered in various places around the apartment. The bowl of fruit was mostly unharmed, except for an orange, which rolled over to Vale's foot. The bowl had a decent assortment of fruit, including a few different kinds of apples, Oran berries, and Sitrus berries.

Cloe and Vale took a few of the fruits and placed them into the bag. Afterwards, all three took an apple from the bowl. Cloe got a fairly sweet yellow apple, Vale got a soft, orange-red apple, and Katherine got a sour green apple. As they ate, they talked about random topics. Finally, one topic reached their minds. "So, have you heard?" Cloe started. "Heard about what?" Katherine asked, taking another bite out of her apple. "About these kidnappers, they're human, and steal Pokemon from trainers almost everyday." Vale blinked, and then suddenly remembered. "Oh, yeah. That group... What was their name? Team 'Missile'?" Katherine chuckled as she finished her apple. "No, I heard about them. Their name is Team Rocket. They recently teamed up with Team Galactic, I heard."

"We should probably be careful during our patrols and rescues." Katherine said, concerned about the group's safety. "I did check out the boards yesterday. I saw that the amount of jobs increased recently." Vale added, finishing her apple. "I wonder if the amount of jobs has changed recently." Cloe wondered, also finishing her apple. "Actually, I did notice that more of the jobs were from other rescue teams. So that worries me more than the amount of jobs." Vale said, showing her concern as she kicked the orange out of the way.

"Yeah? We should pick a couple of those, we might be able to find the source from there." Katherine said, throwing away the remains of her apple. "That's true. However, do you really think we can handle missions like that?" Vale continued. "We can try a branch mission, that's a good start." Cloe began getting curious. "A branch mission? Where we go rescue other teams and members from other bases?"

Vale giggled. "No. You're close, but that's something else. A branch mission is where we rescue the team, then we can climb the "ladder" until we finish the original mission." Vale said. "So, we just finish the jobs that other teams weren't able to do?" Katherine asked, understanding what was needed. "Correct. We eventually end with the mission that started the branch. I've seen a branch that was about eight jobs long."

"Really? Eight jobs? That would take a while, wouldn't it?" Katherine asked. "Yeah, do you think that Team Rocket might have anything to do with it?" Cloe asked further. "Possibly, I can guarantee that the jobs about kidnapping have something to do with them." Vale concluded.

The trio packed up, and began their walk to the base. On the way, Katherine saw that many of the telephone poles had paper stapled to the base. Most of the papers had pictures of Pokemon on them. It was a concerning and very serious problem.

With Pokemon being kidnapped at such a high rate, how can you know who will be next?


	10. Believe That Nothing Bad Will Happen

**Editor's Note: I took some time to think about this chapter. I didn't want it to be overused at all, and wanted to add some detail. I want to be able to add more than the typical "Kidnappers have taken many Pokemon over the last few days." story. So I finally found a way to add more depth to the conflict of this story. Only time will tell when the resolution arrives. I also think this story needs to show that 'Friendship' part of the genre. So here we go.**

**Strap in, enjoy the story, and don't forget to R&R.**

* * *

><p>"<em>You know how<em>

_The time flies_

_Only yesterday_

_It was the time of our lives_

_We were born and raised_

_In a summer haze_

_Bound by the surprise_

_Of our glory days..._"

~ Adele - Someone Like You

* * *

><p><span>Part 9: Believe That Nothing Bad Will Happen<span>

The trio made it to the park, which was surprisingly quiet today. The sun was beating down, not a cloud was in the sky. The park, not two days ago, had many people and Pokemon in it. Today, some of the same people still frequented the park. However, some had looks of worry, some had looks of sorrow. Katherine could tell that the sad-looking people had their Pokemon stolen recently. Nobody in the trio spoke for the entire walk to the pond.

"Do you think that maybe..." Katherine broke the silence, but hesitated before she finished her sentence. "Do you think that maybe some of those people have lost their Pokemon?" Cloe and Vale didn't want to agree, but it was too true to deny. "I believe so, Katherine." The Eevee said. Her voice was sadder than its usual, cheerful self. "We should probably deal with those problems first. It's terrible to see humans in this state." Vale noted, staring at Katherine. She looked away and started heading towards the pond. Katherine had her necklace on, she didn't notice it began to change color at that moment.

Team Summer Heat reached the pond. They were late for the morning cheers. However, that didn't worry them. They knocked on the tree, asking for the gatekeeper to open the gate. However the entrance was open, and oddly enough, there was no gatekeeper. The trio went down the hole. On the floor with all the message boards, not a single soul was seen. A sudden jolt of terror reached Katherine's heart.

_No... It couldn't be... It couldn't have happened here!_

They checked the crew rooms, the mess hall, and the registration room. There was nobody there, just the three of them. Katherine felt her heart stop, she began to feel faint. It was too much to handle. The entire time, all three of them were dead silent.

The entire guild was missing. However, there was still hope. There was one room that they hadn't checked yet. "There's only one room left. We should check it out." Vale said, breaking the silence. She had a sound of absolute fear in her voice. "One more room? We've checked all of them." Cloe added. Katherine was about to say the same thing, but Cloe beat her to it.

"Are you sure it was all of them?" Vale said, as she walked over to the crew rooms. Vale walked into the room at the very end of the hallway. She knocked three times on the wall, and it suddenly opened up. Inside was a long corridor, which ended at a small room. "This is what they call Charmander's Chamber."

It was a chamber. The walls were made of dirt, perfectly rounded to make a cylindrical room. Inside this room was a cot, and a few wooden crates. One of these crates was open, and had nothing in it. The rest were the same, except for one. One crate remained; it was already opened by the looks of it, but at a distance still looked closed. Katherine looked inside for further inspection to find a little surprise.

A lone Charmander jumped out of the crate, his tail flame was not as strong as Cloe remembers it to be. He began to fire flames at Katherine, who he believed was an enemy. Katherine dropped the bag, quickly dodging this attack, and countered by tackling him. This attack floored Charmander, but he still had some fight left in him. Katherine prepared another attack, until she noticed the collar around his neck.

"Hey! Calm down a little, would you?" She yelled. The Charmander froze in his tracks; he looked to his left to see Cloe and Vale staring at him. "Oh! You must be Summer Heat, correct?" Charmander went out of his offensive stance. "That would be us, Charmander." Vale replied. "What happened here? Where did everyone go?"

Charmander looked at Katherine, who still was in her defensive stance. "Everyone was taken... Team Galactic... They sent their Pokemon down here, and took everyone with them. They even took the collars." Charmander responded.

_So, it's true! Everyone _was _taken!_

"Where did they go?" Vale said, a little quicker than she normally speaks. "They went here, to the Rocket Base. These collars have tracking devices in them, which allow us to know where they are." He then proceeded to press buttons on the collars of the three. The collars then changed blue.

"What did you do to it?" Katherine said a little concerned. "Don't worry; as you get closer to a target Pokemon, that collar will change from blue, to green, then finally to red." Charmander said as he finished doing the same thing to Katherine's collar. "Sorry for attacking you earlier. It's just your form, you looked like them." Charmander finished apologetically.

"It's alright; at least you didn't go after Cloe and Vale. Otherwise, I would've had to clean this room with your face." Katherine smirked. Charmander took a step back; having a little more worry than before he attacked her. "Uh... Yeah..."

Katherine then thought about what he said earlier. "Wait. 'I looked like them?' What does that mean?" It was then that the room suddenly got colder. Katherine had a feeling of danger, which made her tremble. Charmander looked at the hallway with a frozen look on his face.

Cloe and Vale were still in the entrance, when something shook the hallway. A large wave of water came flooding through. Katherine saw as the wave started heading rapidly towards the two. Cloe began to run out of the doorway, into the room, and hid behind one of the crates. Vale couldn't move in absolute fear.

"Vale, move out of the way!" Cloe shouted as the wave neared the fire-type. Katherine knew that water that fierce would seriously injure Vale. Katherine ran to Vale and pushed her very hard. Vale tumbled on the ground, eventually hitting a wall. However, Katherine couldn't get out of the way in time. The wave hit Katherine, and sent her flying into the wall with extreme force.

The pain... Katherine thought, pain overwhelming her mind. She began to feel collapse. "Katherine!" Cloe shouted. She ran to the bag, grabbed an Oran berry, and ran to Katherine. "Take this, Katherine. It'll make you feel better." Cloe said as she gave the berry to Katherine.

Katherine immediately felt the pain go away as she finished eating the berry. She was reinvigorated, and regained her composure. "Thanks, Cloe. I needed that." Katherine said shortly after a sigh of relief from Cloe. Katherine saw Vale, who was still getting up from Katherine knocking her into the wall. Katherine began walking over to Vale. "Are you okay, Vale?" Katherine said. "I've felt better." Vale said as she got back up.

Vale stared directly at Katherine, who still looked a little bashed up from hitting the wall. Vale had this practically scared look on her face. That look on her face was immediately replaced with a smile, as Vale half-tackled Katherine to the ground, hugging her. "Thank you, Katherine. Thank you so much." Katherine got back up, a glowing smile on her face. "No problem. That's what friends are for, right?"

Katherine didn't understand why, but this Pokemon she was with; this Vulpix, she seemed to be more than just a partner to her. She then realized something that she knew the other two felt. If you're going to be in a team, you should be with someone you trust. The level of trust between these three was so large, you could feel it.

Katherine then heard sounds coming from the corridor. It was the sound of something, or someone, talking. She looked out into the corridor to see a Vaporeon, readying another strike of what seemed to be Hydro Pump. Just before the Vaporeon begins to attack, it hears something. Katherine heard it too; the sound came from a human. It was calling back the Vaporeon.

As the Vaporeon left, Charmander began explaining what should be done to help the others. He apparently only has one thing on his mind right now. "You need to head to this building here." Pointing at a picture of the building, Charmander began explaining where they were. "You might need assistance from a human, to divert attention so you can get in."

Katherine started to feel a little scared. As she looked down, her necklace was glowing brightly. "Cloe, don't you know a human?" Charmander asked, it was sort of an awkward question to ask. Katherine realized he didn't know that the 'human' he asked about was right in front of him, except that she took the form of an Umbreon. "Yes I do, Charmander. Katherine might help." Cloe said, briefly looking at Katherine.

"If she wants to help, tell her that she needs to enter the building with you two following her." Charmander said, and then quickly looked at Katherine. "I'm sorry, what's your name? I never got it." Charmander asked. Katherine knew that if she said her actual name, Charmander would put two and two together. She had to come up with a name, and fast.

"My name is Eclipse, nice to meet you." Katherine said, disappointed that she couldn't think of a better name. Charmander seemed to buy it though. After a very brief introduction, Charmander sent off the three, wishing them good luck.

All three carefully returned to the apartment. They saw a few shady people on their way back. All of them kept a very watchful eye on all of them. "Katherine, are you sure you want to do this?" Cloe asked, concerned about how Katherine felt about all of this. "Of course I do. I became a nurse at the Pokemon Center to help Pokemon in need. I'm ready to do the same as a Pokemon." Katherine said, readying herself to change back to human.

"Alright then, I hope that everything goes well." Cloe said as she and Vale stood back, and began to cover their eyes. Katherine began to change back into a human. All she could do was pray that nothing terrible would happen to them during their mission.

_Alright, this is it. It's time to begin part two of my adventure._


	11. ACT II Intro: A New Dimension

**Editor's Note: I have thought of a new name for this fanfic. This story, I realized, can only go so far in just a city. I think the story might get a little more interesting to some readers if I were to set the story in a typical PMD world. Sadly, as I think about it, there are far more options that way. Act II takes only this part to explain the change of atmosphere.**

**I realize that this choice might deter some readers and interest other readers with this choice. That's a risk I am willing to take. (I bet you would take the same risk.) I've lived my life being told that you could never get rewarded for taking risks. Had I listened, I never would have become a Let's Player. I would never have met some of the most amazing (and interesting) people I've ever had the pleasure of being friends with; and I never would have written this story in the first place.**

**So, without further ado, I give you Act II of this story. Please Read & Review.**

**Everything you've read so far, I've written as it came out of my head. Improvisational writing is something I prefer. Also, throw what you know about natures in PMD away, since I don't put that into perspective here. Also, I hope you paid attention to the chapter names.**

Act II - Everything Will Change

Intro - A New Dimension

Katherine returned to her human form. She stood up from the couch, having trouble getting used to being a human again. The necklace chain felt cold to the touch around her neck. She felt what seemed like a watch on her wrist. Upon closer inspection, it was the Translator.

"So, how do I look?" Katherine asked jokingly. "I don't know... I think I preferred you as an Umbreon." Vale giggled. Cloe began laughing, due to Katherine blushing from embarrassment.

"Well, we have no time to worry about looks." Vale said with a serious expression on her face. "We need to hurry." The trio began walking towards the window.

However, just as Katherine began to step onto the fire escape, she began getting a headache. _Ow... Why?_ The headache began to hurt more. Eventually, the headache became so severe; Katherine couldn't help but clutch her head, falling to her knees. _Urk... Wh-What's happening?_

Cloe and Vale stood and watched as Katherine turned pale. None of them knew what was happening. "Katherine, are you OK?" Cloe asked.

_The pain... Why is this so painful?_ Katherine questioned this pain. The world surrounding her suddenly turned black and white. The headache slowly subsided as the sun grew dim. _What just happened?_Katherine looked over to Cloe and Vale; both of them had confused looks on their faces.

The air was cold enough that Katherine could see her breath. _It's not even the middle of August... Why is it as cold as December? _Vale began shivering, her speech shaking from the cold. "Wh-why is it so cold?"

_This cold... Is the future... _A voice spoke from nowhere. Katherine recognized that voice. "Espeon, what's going on? What are you talking about?" Just as she finished, Espeon brought her into a vision, the same one Katherine had in her dreams.

"Someone came from the future to stop the events of the past. These events kept time flowing properly. You have been saved from this future. However, your saviors need your help." Espeon explained. "'Saviors?' Who saved us?" Katherine asked.

"Your rescuers are not from this realm. Do you know about that badge, Katherine?" Espeon asked. "The badge I've been wearing? Yes, it shows that I'm a rescue team member."

"Correct. However..." Espeon began showing areas from the city, "Everyone in this city has been frozen in time; except for you three." Espeon said as he showed a picture of the park. The park still looked lively, although very dark.

"When something is frozen in time..." Espeon hesitated, "Everything that is affected by time is frozen too."

"Then why are we not frozen in time?" Katherine asked. "That's easy. It all starts with the past." Espeon said confidently.

"The past?" Katherine was getting confused. Espeon further explained, while Katherine listened. "Yes, the past. In the past, there were teams extremely similar to a rescue team you're on right now. One of the teams consisted of four Pokemon." An image appeared in front of Katherine, the picture showing the group. The image had a pure white background, and only showed the four.

"Chikorita. Calm and considerate, Chikorita knew what was best for the team. He was the leader of Team Faith." The image started to move, little by little as Espeon explained each Pokemon. "Vulpix. Brave and always cheerful. She comforted the team in their harshest moments." A tree began to appear in the image. A blue sky was created above them, white clouds filled the sky. "Squirtle. Strong and supportive. He loved exploring, although his actions usually got him in trouble." The ground below the group formed. Grass blowing slightly in the wind, the stream near the dirt path the group walked on slowly flowed. "Eevee. Innocent and energetic. She was always ready to go on an adventure. She supported her team in battles, sometimes striking before the others." Sound slowly filled the vision. The group was talking to each other about their recent adventure.

"You three will help this group." Espeon finished. "What? How are we going to do that?" Katherine was shocked. She wanted to help, but how she could help was her first concern.

"Easy." Espeon chuckled. "Cloe and Vale are in this dream with you, although you cannot see them." Katherine still looked for them. It was just her and Espeon. "They understand everything, and want to help too."

"I'm ready to give up what I have in the city to help." Katherine said. Her tone was firm and determined, Espeon could tell. "You get to keep the badge. It's the same as the badge they have in the past." Katherine nodded.

"You will also keep the necklace. It will be important, remember that. Do you understand everything I've told you?" Espeon asked. "Yes I do. I'm ready." Katherine nodded.

"You can't be the form of an Umbreon, sadly. There's too much of a space distortion to allow you to keep your future form. So I will find out about your nature; Cloe and Vale will know what you are beforehand. You might become anything, except a legendary entity. Are you ready, Katherine?" Espeon finished. "Let's do this. There's no time to waste." Katherine closed her eyes.

A few moments of dead silence occurred before Katherine opened her eyes again. "You seem to be...the helpful type."

"Everything you hold dear is the most important to you; far more important than even your own life. You are willing to help strangers in need without getting anything in return. However you are afraid that, if you fail, the worst will happen. Due to this, you try your hardest and never regret making a choice that puts you in danger to protect those you cherish most..."

Cloe and Vale appear next to Katherine; both had determined looks on their faces. All three were ready to face the dangers, no matter how great. A bright light flashes before the three. The entire vision is dead silent.

"It's never easy, as your thoughts want you to believe that nothing bad will ever happen to those you care for most. You will never be alone, as long as you have your friends beside you one-hundred percent of the way."

_There's no turning back now…_

"Stay strong. Be smart. Be victorious."

Katherine was surrounded in darkness. Katherine knew her eyes were closed, but she couldn't open them. She heard sounds coming from somewhere nearby. Her eyes finally opened to a particular sound. It sounded like someone was fighting. The sound ended with a scream.

_**SOMEBODY HELP!**_


	12. Complete Strangers

**Editor's Note: My first truly planned out chapter of this story. I brainstormed a few concepts for future chapters. I think I found some new confidence with this addition to the story. It was even tolerable when I noticed a Deus Ex Machina during the Spinarak fight. I didn't want to go too far over the line, so I re-imagined that part. Overall, this chapter took about 5 revisions before it seemed polished enough to release.**

**I'll try to get around 2000 words a chapter every week or so. (Instead of the current 1000.) I do regret losing confidence earlier, but I seem to be getting over it now.**

**I hope you enjoy reading. Please R&R, I'm always listening.**

Part I - Complete Strangers

"**Somebody help!"** An unknown person screamed as the sounds of fighting stopped. Katherine quickly opened her eyes and stood up. _Where did that noise come from? _Katherine thought as she started running towards the noise. She didn't notice that Cloe and Vale were nowhere around.

Katherine stopped at the entrance to a dense forest. The forest had tall, lush pine trees surrounding a dark entrance to an unknown, and creepy, entrance. Katherine stood at the entrance, wondering if the sound actually was coming from the forest. _It had to be here, I know it!_

As she finished her thought, the cry for help flooded the forest again. To Katherine, the voice sounded familiar, like she had heard it before. _Wait... It sounds like... _She looked to her left and right, only to see a nearby stump. That's when she knew who that sounded like; who needed help. _It _can't_ be! It couldn't be them! _At that instant, Katherine ran headfirst into the forest.

The forest was, in fact, a mystery dungeon. The tall trees surrounding the forest darkened the entire area, making it extremely hard to see. _I can't see anything in front of my face! _She confirmed this by putting a paw up. She did not notice that her paw changed from black to blue.

Katherine started encountering the residents of this forest. One of them being a Murkrow, (A pitch-black crow with red eyes; it's feathers arranged on it's head in a way that made it look like a witch's hat.) which tried to peck at Katherine. "Now is _not_ the time, bird!" Katherine yelled as she jumped in the air, and slammed the bird with such force that it hit the ground and fainted. _Why is it so cold here?_ Katherine thought as she kept running. She still hadn't seen her new form.

Soon after seeing the Murkrow, she encountered another resident, which was a Spinarak. Katherine didn't notice it, since it was hanging onto the trunk of a tree. Katherine saw a light illuminating an object in front of her. It was a small Oran berry. _This could be useful. I'll take it, just in case._

As she finished her thought, something attacked her from behind. She could barely make out what it was until a small ray of light highlighted the figure. _Ugh...I hate spiders. _She noticed that the Spinarak had beaming red eyes. _Does that mean that it's evil? _Katherine thought as she prepared to fight.

Instead of tackling her again, the Spinarak shot strings of web at Katherine. Katherine tried to avoid it, but wasn't fast enough. The strands were extremely sticky. The strands landed on the ground and at Katherine's feet. She tried to move, but the strands held her in place.

_What is this stuff? I can barely even move my feet! _Katherine thought as she tried to lift her feet off the ground. Her efforts left her tired. _There's no use struggling, I'm stuck! _The Spinarak took this opportunity to attack Katherine with Fury Swipes.

_That's just not fair! _Katherine thought as the attack landed. The Spinarak swiped again, hitting Katherine in the head. _How long can I endure this?_

The Spinarak tackled again, it hurt more than the last; it even knocked her back a little. _If it keeps landing hits, I'm done for._ Katherine thought, the pain from each hit finally reaching her.

The Spinarak began to attack again. This time, it was going much faster; it was going to try to end the unfair fight. _Can I take another hit? _Katherine thought.

She felt a sudden chill, it felt comfortable to her. Almost instantly, as if by instinct, Katherine inhaled then quickly exhaled. A sudden burst of icy mist flew out, hitting the spider Pokemon in mid-air. The Spinarak got back up, and prepared to strike again.

Katherine realized that the web that she was trapped in wasn't sticky anymore. To Katherine's curiosity and confusion, it was also frozen. _Why is it frozen? Is my new form an Ice-type?_

. Katherine acted again by instinct; she jumped out of the web, and swiftly smacked the Spinarak with her tail. The Spinarak hit the ground and didn't get back up.

Katherine sighed in relief as she began to walk further into the forest. _That could have gotten bad if I wasn't an Ice-type. _Katherine finally saw a clearing after running a little longer. This clearing had sunlight gleaming from the mid-morning sun, leaving a orange-blue tinge of color in the color. The grass was taller than inside the forest, if not more plentiful.

However, that is not what caught Katherine's eyes first. It was an Eevee, standing over a Vulpix in the middle of the clearing. _Is that...? _Katherine finally looked down, noticing her blue body. _A Glaceon? I guess it'll work for now. _Katherine stared at the two Pokemon.

Katherine carefully walked closer to see what had happened. The Eevee noticed Katherine, and began cowering in fear. "Stay away!" The Eevee cried. Katherine carefully looked at the Eevee. There were signs of injury all over the scared Pokemon. There was even a deep gash from the right shoulder to the leg.

"What happened?" Katherine would have asked if the Eevee was okay. Looking at Eevee's injuries, however, gave her the answer. "I found this Vulpix on the ground here. She's unconscious, but soon after I found her, I was ambushed by a Scyther." The Pokemon looked unstable as it spoke, trembling and having to pause during sentences to wince at the pain. "I got slashed, and was wounded." The Eevee said, looking at the cut. "I screamed for help. I was hoping my teammates would arrive, but they never did."

The Eevee sat down, weak and out of energy. "My name is Eevee, I'm from Team Pride." The Eevee shook. "I want to get back, but I don't know how..." The Eevee began to lay down, she had more or less given up hope. Katherine looked at this Eevee, saddened by the words, but stunned that this Pokemon; this Eevee that Espeon spoke so proudly of, gave up hope so easily. Katherine understood what she needed to do.

"My name is Katherine. Get up, I'm getting you out of here." Eevee stared at Katherine for a moment, wondering. "What do you mean? You don't seem to be a rescue team member." Katherine then noticed that the Vulpix was starting to wake up. The Vulpix was practically unharmed, although the position she was in looked uncomfortable.

"Where am I?" The Vulpix asked, sounding confused. "Vale? Is that you?" Katherine asked, her concerns shifted over to the Vulpix. "K-Katherine? Where are we?" Vale asked. "This is Darkwood Forest." The Eevee responded, her voice quiet.

"You're wounded..." Vale gasped as she stared at the Eevee's gash. "It's nice to know you're alright... What's your name, by the way?" The Eevee asked. "My name is Vale, nice to meet you." Vale smiled. "Vale? That's a nice name. I'm Eevee."

Vale stood up, her eyes still fixed on Eevee. "I know who you are. We're going to get you out of here." Vale said as she tried to pick up Eevee. "It's alright, you don't need to carry me. I can walk, I don't think I'll make it too far, though."

"I can help with that." Katherine said, pulling out the Oran berry. "Eat this, it'll make you feel better." Eevee accepted the berry and ate it. Eevee immediately felt relief as energy flooded through her body. "Thanks, I really needed that." Eevee said, her voice sounding more energetic.

"Where's the rest of your team?" Vale asked. "My team is at the entrance of the dungeon. I don't think they heard me. This place is fairly large."

"Why didn't your team come with you?" Katherine asked, now slightly curious about how this unfolded. "We decided to split up because we had a few jobs in this area. We all tackled a job from the list, then we would return at the entrance afterwards."

"Well, you seem to be alright. Let's go back to the entrance." Vale said, her tone almost trying to hide her curiosity. "You lead the way." Eevee said, pointing to the direction of the exit.

It took about 30 minutes of walking to finally reach the entrance, which Katherine realized wasn't the entrance she went in to enter the dungeon. Eevee's wound was still bleeding, and required medical attention. "Are you OK, Eevee?" Vale asked, looking at Eevee's wound.

"I'm alive, if that's what you mean." Eevee said. All three reached the entrance and saw four figures further down the path. "I see some Pokemon over there." Vale said. Eevee gave a smile of gratitude to Katherine and Vale as they continued down the road.

"Eevee! We were starting to get-" The Vulpix stopped as she noticed Eevee's wound. "Great Arceus above... Eevee, we need to take you to a doctor!"

"Alright Vulpix, but we need to bring a couple others with us." Eevee said, looking at Katherine. "This is Katherine, she found me and helped me out of the forest. She seems to know the other Pokemon, Vale."

Vulpix stared at Katherine for a moment, then remembered something. "Oh! Someone was looking for a Pokemon named Katherine. She said her name was Cloe."

"Yeah, she's our friend and teammate." Vale said. "Oh, alright. She's with the other two Pokemon on our team, Squirtle and Chikorita. Come on, they're heading back to our base as we speak." Vulpix said, then proceeded to walk down the road.

_Well, it's going to be one big reunion, isn't it?_

With that, Katherine and the others followed after Vulpix. Katherine knew that the forest was the first of many places she would go in this vast world. She could only wonder what dangers awaited her. _Hmm... how will this story unfold...?_


	13. Recovery?

**Editor's Note: I haven't been able to think of a way to properly tell this story. I don't like explaining in detail (probably because of the fact that I never could explain in detail very well) and I think that's what killed my first story. To be honest, some of the content that you're reading is actually based off of the formatting and perspective of that story. You can read the story from the beginning at my deviantArt account.**

Part 2: Recovery?

"Did anybody else hear Eevee's shouts for help?" Katherine asked. "I didn't hear anything, since I was on the other side of the forest." Vulpix replied, briefly stopping to check the map. "Come on, it's not far now."

They made a camp for the night. Vulpix made a small campfire, and Vale made sure it stayed lit. Katherine felt comfortable in the cold night air being an Ice-type, so she kept her distance from the fire. The group's supplies were very low; they had no Oran berries or apples. Vulpix constantly checked on Eevee's condition, which seemed to get considerably worse as the night continued on.

As the sun's tip barely broke over the horizon, Vulpix decided that the group should probably leave earlier, since Eevee's condition was not getting any better staying at the campsite. Katherine and Vale couldn't disagree, since their concerns were also fixed on the Eevee's injured state. They traveled for about an hour before Eevee started showing signs of weakness. A few hours passed, as the sun began to center above them, the sight of a village broke over the horizon.

"We finally made it!" Vulpix said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Do you think you can walk the rest of the way Eevee?"

"Yeah... I think I can make it..." Eevee responded. Katherine looked at her, she limped quite badly as she walked, but she still had a look of determination on her face. It was also something that she saw constantly in Vale's and Cloe's expressions.

Eevee still cringed with pain on occasion as she walked. She had slowed down considerably since they first left the campsite. _At least the walk isn't much further. Otherwise I don't think Eevee could keep up. _Katherine thought as she slowed down a little. She noticed that Eevee had been walking, or in her case limping, behind everybody else. None of them slowed their pace to let Eevee catch up.

Katherine slowed down enough to let Eevee catch up to her, and began to carry conversation with the fox-like Pokemon. "How badly does it hurt?" Katherine asked after a few moments of silence. "Like, on a scale of one to ten? I'd say about an eight." Eevee responded. "If that's an eight, then what's a ten for you?" Katherine asked, she couldn't think of anything hurting more than getting brutally attacked by a malicious Scyther. "Try adding Acid burns to this, and there you go." Eevee replied. _Well, now I can think of something that hurts more than this. _Katherine thought, thinking of how bad those cases of burns and poisoning from Acid were at the Pokemon Center.

After another half-hour of walking, the group reached the borders of the village. "I might as well give you a quick tour." Vulpix said. "This is the main hub for all rescue and exploration teams. Welcome to Hollow Plains Village."

The village was fairly busy when the group got there. The village was actually in the Hollow Plains. That's what the villagers called it, at least. It was flat ground, with a large mountain off in the distance. The mountain was to the north of the village and towered high into the clouds, the cap of the mountain topped with snow. There was an ocean to the east, just close enough to see the edges line the horizon. To the south, there was a plateau. This plateau was just large enough to be seen at a distance. The group entered from the west, which was the merchant's trail.

Vulpix walked quickly through the village, noting the essential places for teams. There was, of course, Kangaskhan Storage. Just next door, there was a store owned by a Jynx and a Mr. Mime. The store had many mirrors in it, and most of the mirrors reflected on the many items, making the store look large. The store was large itself, with or without the vast arrays of mirrors. Further down the road, there was a bank owned by a Snivy. "We're not sure why the Snivy runs the bank, but she's trustworthy with our money, so we don't mind." Vulpix whispered as they passed by.

They passed through a bazaar, which was full of various items. Whatever you needed, odds were you could find it there. At the end of the road they stopped at a particular building. "Well, here we are. Chansey Clinic." Vulpix said, stopping and looking to the left. The building looked like an army tent. It even featured the usual red cross with a white circle behind it. "It might not look like much, but if you get wounded, this is the place to go."

"Well, I don't think Eevee will get better standing in front of the Clinic." Vale said. Vulpix walked over to Eevee, and motioned for her to go into the Clinic. "We'll be back in a moment, you two. Don't go anywhere." Vulpix said as she entered the tent, injured Eevee in tow.

_What exactly can we do?_ Katherine thought, her experience of being a Pokemon nurse wouldn't exactly work here. She didn't know of any of the medicinal items they used here. She heard of the magical healing properties of seeds as she passed through the bazaar, but she was still unsure about it.

"Katherine, I noticed something." Vale said. "What is that exactly, Vale?"

"Haven't you noticed? You're still wearing your necklace." Vale noted. Katherine checked, and sure enough, she was still wearing the necklace. The notable change, however, is that the necklace was glowing very dimly. _Why is it glowing?_ Katherine thought, staring at the gem.

"_There's a reason it's glowing, Katherine." _A familiar voice spoke out. "_You'll find out in time, but first, there's one thing you need to do."_

_Espeon, what do I need to do? You're not giving me enough information here. _Katherine was talking to Espeon in her mind. Espeon didn't respond back, leaving Katherine to think about what to do next.

Vulpix walked back out of the tent as Katherine finished her "conversation" with Espeon. "Eevee's resting right now, she hasn't fully recovered yet." Vulpix said. "Come on, I'll show you to our base. If I'm correct, then your friend should be there."

The base wasn't too far from the clinic. It was a two or three minute walk to the clinic. About forty seconds if you ran. Inside the base, Cloe, Squirtle, and Chikorita were talking. The conversation stopped as Vulpix walked in. "Are these your friends?" Vulpix said as she looked over to Katherine and Vale. Cloe gave a smile, and walked over to Katherine. "Yes, they are." Cloe said with a smile still on her face.

"Hey, Vulpix, where's Eevee?" Squirtle said. "She's in the clinic recovering." Vulpix replied. "What happened, is she alright?" Chikorita asked with concern in his voice. "You can go check on her. She's still resting however, so be quiet when you go see her." With that, the two left the base.

A few minutes passed. Cloe and Vale were talking with Vulpix, while Katherine listened. _"So, Katherine, are you still wondering what that reason is?" _Espeon said. _Of course, Espeon. I want to know soon. _Katherine thought. _"Well, I didn't tell you that you were going to keep the necklace. There's a reason why." _Espeon continued, _"That necklace contains an ability; a powerful ability. However, it can only be used in one way. You will find out that way very soon, Katherine." _Espeon finished. Katherine was more confused than before she was told of this ability. _When exactly is 'very soon?'_ Katherine thought.

"_Now."_

As Espeon finished saying that word, the door of the base slams open. "Vulpix!" An out of breath Squirtle shouted. "What's wrong, Squirtle?" Vulpix asked. "You need to come quick! Something's wrong with Eevee!" Squirtle yelled as he quickly turned around and started running back to the clinic. "What?" Vulpix exclaimed as she got up and ran out of the door.

Katherine got up, and before Cloe or Vale could say anything, she started to run to the clinic. "Katherine! Wait up!" Vale shouted as she and Cloe ran out with Katherine.


	14. The Last Breath

**Editor's Note: This part might be a little sad for some, and others might think it's a little graphic. Then again, what's more graphic than death? I've felt the pain of losing someone, and that pain is worse than any other feeling in the world.**

**I had to change my formatting a little for this. The conversation with Espeon is all supposed to be in Katherine's mind, so anything she says (or thinks, whatever you think is more logical) to Espeon is also italicized. Whatever Katherine thinks to herself about is in plain quotation marks. The reason why I did this is the fact that if Katherine was talking normally to Espeon, then it would seem like she was talking to herself.**

**The song that I listened to while writing this part was "Worth A Thousand Pictures" by Approaching Nirvana. (Shameless plug, just listen to it.)**

**I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Please don't forget to R&R, I'm always aiming to improve on my writing.**

**P.S. Sorry for all of the italicized things in this chapter. If there's too much italicization, tell me, and I'll try my best to fix it. This chapter was written before the rewrite, so this is the plot that the story is based on.**

Part 3: The Last Breath

Something wasn't right this time at the clinic. As Katherine walked up to the tent, she could feel it. "Why is it so cold?" Katherine thought. It was awkward for her to be cold, this cold wasn't natural. That's when Katherine realized something. "Hey… This feels the same as it did before we left the city!"

Katherine walked into the Clinic, the cold getting much more severe as she walked further in. There were no Pokemon in the waiting room, or in any of the other rooms. Except for one room that was adjacent to the waiting room. This room, like every room, had a cloth in the doorway. This cloth acted as a door, mostly for privacy reasons. However, the cold emanating from that room even made Katherine shiver.

"This is the source of the cold?" Katherine thought as she pulled back the cloth door like a shower curtain. Inside the room, there was Team Pride. They were looking over Eevee, almost sorrowfully. As Katherine inspected the room, she noticed how none of the Pokemon moved. "Why are none of them moving?"Katherine thought. _"Have you ever watched someone die?" _A voice spoke. _Espeon, what's going on here? It's unnaturally cold, and nothing's moving! _Katherine speculated on what she just said, until she realized something. _Wait… It was like this in the future!_

"_That's right, Katherine." _Espeon responded. _"Now, back to my previous question: Have you ever watched someone die?" _Espeon asked. _I never have, and I hope I never will. _Katherine thought. She technically didn't see her parents die, but she was the only one that wasn't in the house when it burned down.

"_It's pretty horrible in a way." _Espeon said, his tone sounding sad. _"Watching someone die is unlike anything any being will ever see, including when you can see the cause. Take for instance Eevee's current condition." _Espeon finished as Katherine looked over to Eevee. _"What you're seeing right now is the moment Eevee takes her last breath."_

_What? Do you mean she- _Katherine was interrupted by Espeon mid-sentence. _"Her injuries were untreatable. The Scyther didn't just give her a large gash, he hit something more vital." _Espeon paused for a moment, and then continued. _"The attack actually sliced through, and hit her heart. Eventually, the hole expanded from overexertion. She bled out from her injuries."_

Katherine felt nauseous. What she had just heard was something she almost couldn't take. She walked over to look at Team Pride. Squirtle and Chikorita looked downward, a teardrop suspended on both of their faces. However, what really made an impact on Katherine was what she saw from Vulpix.

Vulpix was in the middle of breaking down right there. Her paw was outstretched, holding onto Eevee's paw. _"If you've never seen someone die, then you probably haven't felt the impact it makes on friends and family." _Espeon paused. _"Vulpix and Eevee were lifelong friends. After a while, they decided to make a rescue team. They gained two new members not long after they formed it. Those two were Squirtle and Chikorita."_

'_Lifelong friends…' I could not imagine the pain she's feeling right now…_ Katherine said. _"Vulpix held onto Eevee's paw and didn't let go until the last possible moment. As Eevee's heart stopped, the grip loosened until only Vulpix was holding on. She felt the heat leaving Eevee's paw, and she broke down right there."_

Katherine looked at Vulpix, and felt a gut-wrenching amount of sorrow from what she saw. Vulpix stood there, holding onto Eevee's paw. Tears filled her eyes, and some were on her face. A teardrop was suspended in midair. Vulpix was _the _definition of heartbroken.

"_It's quite sad, isn't it?" _Espeon asked. "I couldn't imagine how Vulpix is feeling right now_._"Katherine thought as she tried to look away, but found that she couldn't. _"Let's discuss how you can fix this." _Espeon said.

_What are you talking about? _Katherine asked. _"You have seen what happens when a Timeshifter changes history." _Espeon asked.

Katherine stared at the group. _What's a Timeshifter? _Katherine wanted to know more, she _needed _to know more. _"A Timeshifter alters history either for better or for worse. In this matter, it's for worse." _Espeon paused before speaking again. _"I should add that what happened here altered history to the point that time itself stopped forever. Only you and your friends aren't affected by time stopping, and there's a reason why."_

_How is it that we're not affected, and what's the reason? _Katherine asked. _"You three aren't affected by time because of this past. Timeshifters aren't affected by time stopping, because they aren't a part of time itself." _ Espeon responded.

After a few moments, Katherine realized what he just said. _Wait… Are we- _Katherine was again interrupted by Espeon. _"Yes, you three are Timeshifters. The reason why is because of the necklace." _Katherine let Espeon continue explaining. _"In the human realm, the necklace lets you change your form. The Pokemon realm is in a different dimension, so it's used to allow safe passage through points in time. When you used the necklace for the first time, Cloe and Vale were close, right?"_

_Yeah, and they didn't change. So why was it only me that changed? _Katherine asked. _"It was because they weren't touching it. They were in close proximity, however, so they were affected by it. It only changed their spacial distortion, though." _Espeon said. _So, do they need to touch it to pass through time? _Katherine asked. _"No, they don't. Since you used it twice, their distortion is great enough that they can freely pass through time, but only in small spans of a few days." _Espeon responded. _Like Celebi does… _Katherine said in an understanding tone.

"_Celebi is a Timeshifter herself. In fact, the reason why there are more Timeshifters than just her is because she used her ability near other Pokemon. As time passed on, some Timeshifters eventually used their abilities maliciously. Only recently has there been a divide between the groups."_

_Alright. So when can we change history? _Katherine asked. She wanted to make sure this wouldn't happen. _"That's what I wanted to hear. Vale and Cloe should be here in a moment. I've already told them the same things I've told you. They're ready whenever you are."_

"_I'll contact you again. Be prepared." _As he finished, Cloe entered the tent, slightly out of breath. "Come on, we're going back. This should have never happened." Katherine said as she walked towards the entrance of the tent. "Yes, we need to change this." Cloe replied as she followed Katherine out.

"How far back should we go?" Cloe asked. Vale eventually got to the tent, panting heavily due to the sprint she had to do to catch up to Cloe. "OK… I'm here…" Vale said, panting between words.

_If I'm right, then we should see the points in time like a timeline? _Katherine asked herself. _"That's correct, Katherine. Everything should be seen in front of you, like a picture. Just look for the point before Eevee was attacked, and you might be able to stop this." _Espeon responded.

_Alright, let's get to work. _Katherine thought as the necklace began to glow brightly. "Katherine, what if we're too late?" Cloe asked.

"We won't be, Cloe. I can assure you that." Katherine responded confidently. Katherine saw before her eyes all of the events prior to when she found Eevee. Eventually a picture appeared that showed the moment Eevee was attacked. She noticed something from that image. It looked like Eevee was shielding someone from the attack.

"Vale, Eevee protected you from that Scyther's attack." Katherine said. Vale looked at the same image. "Now it's official."

"What do you mean?" Cloe asked. "I have to return the favor. We need to prevent that from happening." Vale responded.

"OK. Now to look for the event that happened before this occurred."Katherine thought. Many pictures flashed before her eyes. She finally set her eyes on one event. The picture moved, and eventually sounds could be heard.

"Alright, so we meet back here when we're done with our missions." Squirtle said. "That plan sounds good to me." Vulpix replied.

"That's where we need to go." Katherine said. Cloe and Vale stood near Katherine and saw the same image. "Alright, there's no time to waste!" Cloe said.

Katherine closed her eyes as the light from the necklace became too bright. The light became almost engulfing as Katherine felt time brush past her. These waves kept passing by until the light dimmed enough for Katherine to see. The three stood at the entrance to Darkwood Forest again, except this time they were aware of the events that would take place here.

"We need to hurry! There's no telling when it will happen!" Vale said as she began to run into the forest. Katherine and Cloe quickly followed.


End file.
